The Georgia Southern softball team competed in the Auburn Invitational over the weekend and went 1-4.

In the first game, GS won big against Binghamton in Head Coach Kim Dean’s 100th career win. Junior pitcher Rylee Waldrep struck out a career-high 10 batters and freshman Bailee Wilson hit her first collegiate home run in the 8-2 victory.

Directly following the victory, GS faced Auburn for the first time and almost came out with a win. The game was back-and-forth for the first three innings and a strong lead was not held for long for either team. At the bottom of the seventh inning, Auburn tied up the game after a home run. GS fell behind in the ninth after a single RBI up the middle. Freshman pitcher Aaliyah Garcia took the loss in her almost nine innings of work.

On Saturday, GS was taken down by No.18 Minnesota in six innings. Junior infielder Alia Booth started the offense with a double RBI in the first inning. In the fifth inning, the Golden Gophers brought in five runs to take a lead and seven runs in the sixth.

In the second game against Binghamton, GS could not repeat their winnings ways from the first battle. The game spilled over into an eighth inning, where a Bearcat made her way into third base and brought home a run thanks to a wild pitch from Garcia.

In the final game of the tournament, GS could not get on the board against Auburn. The Tigers rotated through three pitchers and were led by senior outfielder Eillington Day’s single hit and two walks.

“But in looking past the scoreboard and the win column, I think we got a lot of valuable lessons out of the innings,” Dean said. “Our girls continue to fight through some adversities, with anything and everything happening that was out of our control… Mekhia Freeman had a phenomenal weekend as she was lights out offensively and defensively.” 

The Eagles will return to Statesboro for a three-game homestand this week. Wednesday’s game against Boston College has been cancelled, so the team will have a few days of rest before beginning conference play on Friday against ULM.

Amanda Arnold, The George-Anne Managing Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu